Bad Apple
by Ensign Klutz
Summary: AU. Tieria Erde is a young man who works at Ptolemaios Bookstore and by pure chance, he has been asked to help prove a patient at the Human Reform Institute has been rehabilitated. Allelujah Haptism and Tieria will both find out if Hallelujah truly left.
1. Chapter 1

BAD APPLE!

**Chinese Fairy:** Oh my god, it has been such a long time since I submitted a story to fanfiction. God, I can't believe it. It has been way too long, but since I have been having a severe writer's block for my Naruto stories and nothing has stuck to my mind unlike this one.

Now let me get one thing straight please, this is an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE to the T! I thought this up during my winter break while listening to the "BAD APPLE by Cristina Vee, this and a mix of wondering what kind of life the Meisters would've have had a … Semi normal life.

There aren't a lot of Allelujah/Tieria pairing stories out there, so I thought I'd stake a claim to this fandom.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gundam 00 or any of its characters. I do not own "Alice in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll or the lyrics from the Disney movie, "Alice in Wonderland" which belongs to Disney. As other titles and works appear in different chapter, I will disclaim them either at the end or beginning.

**Pairings: **Allelujah/Tieria/Hallelujah, Lyle/Setsuna, and past Neil/Tieria. There is a few more implied, but these are the main ones~!

**Summary:** Tieria Erde is a young man who works at Ptolemaios Bookstore under Ms. Sumeragi Lee Noriega. One day he is offered extra pay to go to the Human Reform Institute to help a Dr. Billy Katagiri in proving a certain patient has been completely reformed and capable of living in the world. All Tieria has to do is interact with this patient for several visits to prove to the faculty that he is competent and once he is cleared he can be released. After a few visits, Tieria finds out why the sweet Allelujah Haptism is a patient at the HRI when he meets Hallelujah, his other personality. Both individual lives are now connected now that Allelujah and Hallelujah now covet what they mutually believe belongs to them: Tieria Erde.

**Chinese Fairy: **Now, once more, this is an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE so a lot of things will be changed, facts and names will be altered for the story and I will try my best to make this as best of a story as I can. Thank you for clicking on the story and enjoy~!

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Barcelona, Spain 2312.

Living located in the EAU, or the Union, does not seem as horrible ever since the war ended. Lives have become peaceful and no one has any desire to shift the balance of power that is now equally shared within what has have become the World Sphere Alliance and the independent Pillars of Heaven that also benefit from the new world.

The war was long over and now everyone is capable of breathing and enjoying life instead of fearing an impending attack or radical movement. The real test now comes forth with maintaining peace. If the people of earth and space can make this impossibility possible, then maybe the Gundam Meisters succeeded where thousands of years failed the solar system.

This is fine and all, but how does this bother a 24-year old man who has a job and is barely gets by on his salary? Tieria Erde sighed inaudibly as he stared at the ceiling, which offered him shelter from the rain, but not his family. "I hate Mondays…" he murmured to no one. Silence replied nothing and he rolled onto his side.

Glaring red numbers were a stark contrast in the bleak hours of the morning and the time, "6:42 AM" were informing him that in three minutes, his alarm would go off and rouse him for the new day. Tieria's delicate hands moved to the digital clock and push the cancel button, so the alarm would not needlessly wake up his roommates. He pulled himself out of bed and began the morning exercises of getting ready for work. Still in his light purple flannel pajamas, he made his way through the dark hallway and into the bathroom that was shared between the three friends.

Brushing teeth; washing away remnants of sleep; combing straight locks into his preferred hairstyle; all of this was like clockwork that was nothing too elaborate. The youth made his way back to his room and saw it was nearing seven am. Lithe hands found the cord connected to the blinds and allowed the thin strands of light to stream into his boring room.

Nothing special adorned his room, a small desk, a nightstand, two bookshelves, a swivel chair, and his bed. A dark purple curtain kept his clothes and a few personal items hidden in his closet. Another sigh passed his lips as Tieria walked to his desk and picked up his rounded spectacles. They were no longer prescription glasses, but they were the one item that he treasured and went everywhere with.

"Neil…" the name passed through his lips without permission and his form stiffened unconsciously. He stalked off to the kitchen and began brewing coffee for himself and his roommates, who will be waking up soon. As the coffee maker began bubbling the hot water, the purple haired youth moved back to his room where he dressed in his usual attire: a yellow long sleeve button up shirt, with his favorite pink sweater over that, and finally his gray pants that hugged his thighs and then straightened out as they reached his bare feet.

He moved to the sock section of his closet and picked out a pair of white socks, slipped them on and moved back into the main portion of his room. Tieria picked up a discarded satchel that was leaning against his desk and left his room it its nonexistent devices.

As he walked into the kitchen, he saw that one of his roommate was already up and sipping on coffee. Large eyes that seem to glisten like rippling water turned to him, then back to staring at the wall. "Morning," he offered before his lips returned to the rim of the cup. Tieria nodded and set down his bag onto his chair of the dining table. The room was similar to everything else in their apartment: it was small, yes, but it suited them all. Setsuna F. Seiei took one more sip of his coffee before placing his favorite white mug with a blue stenciled Gundam head on the side down and moved to the refrigerator to pull out some bread.

"We're almost out of butter, could you put it on the list?" the slightly shorter man spoke as his eyes looked over the semi empty icebox. The other didn't respond, but moved close to the stove where the shopping pad was nestled. Right underneath eggs and ice cream went butter. Tieria turned to make his own cup of coffee when he was taken by surprise by a new mug being offered to him by his friend. Setsuna nodded and the other smiled,

"Thank you." Tieria took a small gulp, reveling in the hot liquid burning his throat as it went down. It was a masochistic pick me up, but it woke him up more so than cold water to the face. He placed the mug down and leaned against the wall, his gaze not focusing on anything in particular.

"Do you want me to go grocery shopping today?" he asked Setsuna who was now beginning to toast a slice of bread. The said man moved back to the refrigerator and pulled out the strawberry jam. "No, Lyle wants to do it today; he feels he is unconsciously turning you into the house wife."

Tieria glowered at the statement and inwardly cursed the twin. Sure, he looked like Neil, but there were of course subtle similarities, besides the looks and obvious contrasts in personalities. Thinking of Neil again made his chest ache, so the purple haired youth shook his head and turned to his roommate.

"I may be late tonight since Ms. Sumeragi is receiving a large shipment of school books." Tieria spoke softly and his fingertips pushed his glasses higher onto his nose, right in their proper position. Setsuna glanced up to see the movement and nodded, _He's thinking about Neil again_, he thought, but replied, "Alright, I'll tell Lyle and we'll leave your dinner in the microwave."

Nodding in thanks, Tieria picked up his side bag and moved to the entrance of their apartment and slipped on his worn out shoes that he's had for five years. They were worn and faded brown slip on shoes that we cheap, but sturdy. "Take care Setsuna," he said and not waiting for a reply, he opened the door and left the home that was stifling him.

The morning was crisp with fresh air and people were already bustling around their stands making sure their food was presentable for shoppers. Vegetable, fruits, jewelry, and many other different stands were already set up or in the process of being propped up by their owners.

He directed his gaze to the buildings that surrounded him; the place he called home for 8 years. The city of Barcelona was neither his birth city nor where his blood family lived, but it was better than his hometown where problems followed him everywhere and nothing could sever the connection he held with them. Not even moving away to Barcelona made any difference.

Tieria sighed and walked down the street to a bank and walked in. The sign on the door said it opened at 9 and he knew for a fact that it was no where near opening hour, he still walked in and made his way to the counter. Like clockwork, a lovely young lady was waiting for him with a warm smile and she spoke, "Good morning, Tieria. How are you today?"

He smile politely and replied, "I am doing well, Miss. Vashti, and how about yourself?" warm giggles passed from her lips as her smile widened. "I'm perfectly fine, and I already told you to stop with the title. If I can call you by your first name, you can call me by mine." He chuckled and nodded, "Of course Mileina. I already told you, it is a very hard habit to break."

A teasing pout made it to her lips and she mumbled, "Of course, your father would be proud." His fingers shifted his glasses from side to side in order to prop them comfortably in the bridge of his nose and he nodded.

"I would like to make a deposit." He stated, Mileina nodded and moved to login into her desk computer. "Same amount as usual?" she asked; her lovely chocolate locks bounced slightly as she turned to face him. Tieria pulled out a check and offered it to her under the bulletproof glass.

A nimble hand took it and her fingers were once again dancing over the keypad; this became a monthly tradition for the two ever since he moved here. _Money, money, and more money for his family, _he thought bitterly, but nothing showed on his face. Finally, Mileina turned back to him with a smile; he was grateful for that smile since she had no idea where the money went.

"All taken care of Tieria," she said. He smiled, "Thank you very much for helping me this early in the morning." _Another traditional statement included in their monthly meeting_.

"I've already told you before, I am glad to help you. Seeing as how you've said this a million times before, I can't break tradition." Her smile softened and a light blush dusted her cheeks. "You're welcome."

He nodded and began pulling back from the counter. "You take care, Mileina. I'll see you next month." As he was leaving, she shouted, "I'll look forward to that!"

Smiling and feeling like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders, Tieria continued walking down the streets until he turned right, and one block down he turned left and waiting there on the street corner was his boss: Ms. Sumeragi Lee Noriega.

Since summer was fast approaching, she already was taking the liberty of dressing in summer attire. A strapless white summer dress that held her chest suggestively and ruffled out until it ended at her mid-thigh. Yes, a summer dress indeed.

The purple haired youth walked over to her side and offered a smile, "I see you are getting our readers ready for our summer sales?" Sumeragi turned to face her employee and returned the smile.

"Of course, you know we always do better in the spring, summer, and early fall seasons. You don't think it is because people actually like books now that the Internet has stretched even farther so connection could be made to the satellite orbiting Jupiter?" she took the liberty to twirl once for him and he blushed when he notice the dress hike up slightly to flash more of her thigh.

Tieria coughed a bit to drive attention away from his blushing cheeks and turned to their bookstore. "I'll open up shop now. Call me when the new shipment arrives." Sumeragi nodded and opened the trunk of her car to fish out the new sign that would be propped outside their store on the sidewalk.

In stylish writing, the advertisement said, "New early summer sales inside the Ptolemaios Bookstore!" she smiled to herself and placed the sign on a four legged easel that would show off its message to the entire street and anyone passing by on bike or car. _Yes, today is a good day to start our summer boom._ She thought to herself, and then turned to face the two story lot that was hers.

Eleven years this coming October, marked how long the store has been in her possession. A sad smile crossed her lips, _the first year was bitter and I almost failed to keep my business going. The bills, the novice means of catching attention… all of it was too new for me, until you showed up, huh?_ He who would never be brought up again, he was her only secret; a beautiful true love that made her wonder how crazy love made her… _Emilio…_

It hurts so much to think of him. After he passed away 11 years ago, alcohol and her old school friend were the only comfort she wanted. In truth, it was a one-night fling, but he thought it was more. "Billy, do you really think that there will be anything more between us?" she whispered to herself as her bangs swept into her line of vision. No matter how nonchalant she treated their one night of passion, he still kept in touch and made sure she was fine. Sumeragi let out a small sigh and her smile brightened slightly.

"Even when you ask me nowadays for another chance, you still have the compassion to ask me how my store is doing, you really are too sweet… Billy…" she murmured since no once was around. Even if she said that one night meant nothing out loud, _I know deep down how important it was for me._

At that moment, the lights flickered on inside the bookstore and Tieria was moving the curtains in the front windows to one side to show off a small percent of their vast collection of books. Shakespeare, Tennyson, Dickens, Carroll, and more famous writers' and their works were propped on velvet blankets that adorned the shelves in the front. All books propped up on stands decorated with a little glitter and some painting and drawings done by patrons of their store.

"A very good store, indeed." Sumeragi said louder and made her way into the store to brew coffee for her and her worker. She glance at the old father clock by the cash register and pouted. "Feldt should have been here four minutes ago," she stated and Tieria popped his head out from around a bookcase. "Remember she just moved into that new apartment with Louise and Saji; it will take a few days to get used to the new schedule." He replied to her as he replaced empty parts of the cases with the same books to keep their stock full.

"Hn." Was her only reply for a moment then Sumeragi replied, "That would've worked the first time, the following twenty times, is making me wonder how far she moved…" she deadpanned and he laughed. "I keep trying to think of another excuse for her, but that one seems to just fit our unique schedule. It's not like you really matter when she comes in anyway. I'm the only one who has to hear about your bickering of how Feldt is late. You're just aggravating yourself."

"Who's aggravating who?" came the soft voice from the entrance of the store and both turned to see a slightly flustered Feldt as she rushed to the back in order to place her bag down in the staff area and took advantage of the mirror hanging in the employee area to straighten herself out.

Tieria stared at his boss with a knowing smile and returned to his restocking the bookshelves. Feldt returned to the large round room that acted as the first floor and asked her question again.

Sumeragi glance at her coffee maker and replied, "No one in particular. Do you want some coffee?" her voice lost the bit of annoyance that Tieria heard and his smile grew.

His boss sensed that same smile and with his back facing her she barked, "No smiling, boy!" she was wielding a newspaper, which made Feldt burst out giggling since his back was still facing Sumeragi. Their boss couldn't help it she chuckled.

"Yes, ma'am." The three workers worked together to straighten out the first floor and Feldt made her way up a metal coal black spiral staircase that lead her to the second floor that was reserved for collector books and other older tomes that were for sale, but not many people went up there. There were six rounded windows on the second floor and the pink haired beauty took the task of opening them all by pulling away the night blue curtains out of the way to allow more of the late spring sun light into their abode.

Like a dam being opened, sunlight filled the entire store with pouring light and Tieria flicked the switch that controlled the light settings and turned them off. No matter what, the sun always made their store shimmer and show off more so than any other bookstore in the area.

_Even if she said no one reads books anymore, people still come to our store. Maybe for the eye candy that is my boss and coworker, but people do come here because there is something special about our store. Almost like it is meant to be a store for everyone._ Thought Tieria as he saw Sumeragi opened a two step stool and she stood on it to pull the cord that was connected to the neon sign that showed everyone that came through the street that their store was open for business.

The longhaired brunette let out a happy sound and informed her employees, "Yes! 9 o'clock on the dot!" and as promised, people did read the sign and more people than their usual quota of patrons came into the store that day.

As promised, Tieria Erde came home later than his more constant time of 6 pm and walked over the threshold closer to 8. He kicked off his worn shoes and straightened them with his foot before moving to his room and putting his satchel away in its same spot against his desk.

He turned to go back into the kitchen to warm up his dinner, but something new on his desk stopped him and he was now paler than before. A manila envelope was resting on his desk with his address in the middle and the return address in the corner. Above his current residence number, was his name written in fine cursive.

"Regene…" he whispered. It took several moments to finally make his body move his hand to pick up the envelope and another minute to force his fingers to open the letter. His eyes skimmed over the letter and he read it again right after the first read through.

"_Dear Tieria,_

_This is your brother writing to say hello and how are you. You never replied to my other letter, so I'll assume that because it was lost in transit."_ The natural purple haired youth scoffed and glanced to his bookshelf to see a small portion of the third wooden counter held several manila envelopes that held letters he couldn't bring himself to discard.

_"I know you do not really care for your family, but we care about you. We miss you. None of us have seen you for eight years and it hurts that you will not come home, not even for Christmas or New Years. Everyone is doing well, incase you wanted to know. Ribbons is doing a little better and we have you to thank for that. Your Christmas and Easter bonus was able to help us buy better medicine for him. If this movement upwards keeps up, soon he will be completely healed and you could come home. He would love to see you. No matter how much I look like you, he misses you-"_

Angrily, Tieria didn't finish the letter a second time and threw it to the floor like it was sucking energy out of him. "Damn it!" he shouted to himself as he dropped to his knees. In his moment of anger, he began beating his fists into the wooden floor and felt his eyes tear up, but he wouldn't let them fall. _Not on the glasses Neil gave me!_ He thought bitterly.

Soon, two hands gently grabbed his wrists to stop his self-abuse and another pair of hands pulled his form in for a hug. "It'll be okay, Tieria. Come on don't hurt yourself for them; they're not worth it, Princess." _Neil…?_ He thought pitifully as he stared up at the face that haunted him for years. "I-I'm so sorry," he cried painfully. He grabbed onto the unzipped green and white jacket that Neil wore and wailed. "Neil, they keep asking more of me… I-I'm not sure how… how much more I can give of myself before there will be n-nothing left of me." Sobbed Tieria. He now slumped into Neil's warm form and finally allowed his tears to crawl down his cheeks onto a forest green shirt.

Lyle looked up from Tieria to Setsuna and the golden-eyed youth nodded, "Let him believe that Neil came back for a little bit. He needs that now." The younger man said softly. Setsuna moved closer and rested his head against Tieria's back for support.

Lyle Dylandy, brother to Neil Dylandy who died in the war five years ago, glance down at the letter and inwardly cursed the family Tieria was a part of. _No matter how much he gives you bastards, you still ask more of him. If I could, I'd ask Neil to haunt you, but we need him more than you petty assholes._ He felt sobs vibrating through his friend and held him closer.

"A little bit longer, Princess, then the carriage will back into the pumpkin."

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**Chinese Fairy:** Well, there is the prologue. I hope this caught some attention and there will be a few people interested in this windy story known as BAS APPLE! Thank you for reading and please take a moment to review, I'd really appreciate feedback pertaining to the story.

Thank you once again, and everyone take care!

P.S: This is unbeta'd. Sorry about that...


	2. Chapter 2

**BAD APPLE!**

**Chapter 2**

**Chinese Fairy: **Just putting up the Disclaimer, I do not own anything and nothing does not magicaly belong to me now~

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**BAD APPLE**

**Chapter 2**

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The next morning, Tieria woke up in his bed with yesterday's clothes still on and his glasses were resting on his nightstand by his bed. Gazing at those non-prescription glasses, he felt his heart become heavier.

"_If I didn't know better, I'd say you were falling in love with me!" a roll of the eyes dismissed the laughing brunette as he hugged Tieria closer. "I know you do. Why do you keep pretending that you don't like me and you keep ignoring my confessions of loving you?" Tieria bit his lip as he tried to come up with a better answer._

_Finally, he pulled away and took a step back. "You know I can't. I don't have time to date. I need to save as much money as I can for my family." A pathetic reason if he ever heard one. Neil agreed and replied, "I'm not one of those gold diggers. I just want us to try out a relationship. If you don't like me by… the end of this week with three dates, then I will leave you alone about the matter and never bring it up again. Deal?"_

This is a bad idea,_ his mind kept repeating, but for once, Tieria Erde listened to his heart; not his head. "Alright, three dates and by the end of the week, if I do not want to continue this, we end… Whatever this may be." His hands ushered between their forms and Neil smiled that same smile that melted Tieria's heart._

_Neil's arms snaked around this smaller man's waist and he brought him close. "You don't mind out age gap, do you?" another roll of the eyes and Tieria said, "It doesn't matter to me; we're both over 18 and that's all. Now let go so I can get back to work." He pulled out of the embrace._

_Ms. Sumeragi's voice called back, "No, you still have five more minutes of break, sweetie!" Neil laughed and brought him close again. "Not yet, my Cinderella."_

"Not yet…" Tieria murmured to no one. He glanced up at his clock on his nightstand and sighed. "I'm late for work…" he rose from the warm bed and hurried through his daily motion of getting ready just like yesterday, but he didn't enter the kitchen until he was ready to leave.

The purple haired man walked into the kitchen and saw Lyle and Setsuna sitting at the table with their coffee mugs set in front of them. "Morning," said Tieria. Setsuna nodded and Lyle saw the satchel by his friend's side. "Where are you going?" he asked before picking up his mug for a sip.

Tieria rolled his eyes and replied, "I'm going to rush to work." He moved close to the refrigerator and took from a small fruit basket an apple. Setsuna spoke, "We called Ms. Sumeragi and told her you weren't feeling well. She said for you to take a day off." Tieria clenched around the red apple and turned to face them.

"I'm fine, I'm going to work." He grounded out and moved to leave, but forced himself to stop and calm down. _They're just worried about me… don't take it out on them._ He smiled a rueful smile to himself. _Neil would be proud._ He pushed his spectacles higher on his nose and turned to face them. "Sorry, but right now I just need to work; keep busy. You understand." A question posed as a statement. They knew he was going to go anyway, so Lyle sighed.

"Alright, go to work, but we are going to go pick you up after work." He said confidently. Tieria's mouth fell open like a fish for a moment and then his voice came back. "That's not necessary." Setsuna stood up from his spot and walked over to the sink to rinse his favorite mug.

"It doesn't matter if it is necessary or not. We are going to walk home together and that's that." Translation, _we are giving you support, so just accept it._ He turned to face Tieria with a soft gaze; the closest to a true smile.

Tieria slumped his shoulders in defeat and nodded, "Fine, fine. I'll see you guys around six." He slipped on his shoes and opened the door. "Take care, Princess!" called Lyle and the door slammed shut.

Tieria ran to his work and smiled when he walked in ten minutes to opening. Sumeragi and Feldt both turned to see him rush in and waited for him to come back to the first floor area. "Sorry I'm late, but I made it." He offered a smile to which both women knew was fake.

Sumeragi was the first to speak up, "I thought I gave you the day off."

"I don't need a day off, I'm fine." Was his response. Feldt opened her mouth to speak, but Tieria faced both of them with a neutral face. "Look guys, I know I'm not my usual self, but I need work. I need to keep busy." He turned to star only at his boss. "Please don't send me home."

"Tieria…" murmured Feldt and Sumeragi knew he won over her heart… Again. She exhaled and ran her hand through her head. "Fine, stay if you need to. You can help Feldt organize yesterday's order. Apparently, Lasse is going to come by again to drop off another shipment that was part of yesterday's batch."

Tieria released a small breath he was holding and nodded, "Yes, ma'am." With nothing else to say, he returned to the back with Feldt as their employer returned to the front window to flick on the "open" sign.

The day passed with nothing more to offer any form peace or unease. Lasse came by as promised to drop off the shipment; one of Sumeragi's best patron's Wang Liu Mei and her brother, Hong Long, stopped by the browse around the second floor and left with a collector's edition of the "Velveteen Rabbit" by Margery Williams; and the most of the shipment was organized and placed into stock. Customers came in and out with the wonderful sign outside to promote the sale.

Tieria sighed as he placed the last book on its designated shelf and allowed his mind to fall out of work mode. "Ribbons wants to see me…" he murmured to himself and allowed his forehead to hit the shelf in front of him with a low "thunk".

Feldt's aquamarine eyes turned away from her friend and turned to her employer. "He's really bummed out about something. I wish we could help him, Ms. Sumeragi." The voluptuous woman nodded and placed down her glass of water. "I wish we could, but if he doesn't talk to us, then there is nothing we could do…" she gazed down at her glass of water and had a fairly good idea as to why her male employee was so upset. _Money, money and more money… those damn family members are going to break him and who will be there to clean up the mess that will be left of Tieria Erde?_

Sumeragi sighed loudly and slumped back into her tall swivel chair that she has for when she or Feldt works the cash register. "I hate Tuesday…" she murmured. Feldt giggled and swiped a bit of her pink hair out of her eyes. "No, you hate it when Tieria is upset." Noriega gave her a small smile and nodded, "Yeah, you're right… I just wish there was something we could do."

Whether it was fate or pure coincidence, the phone rang then and there. Sumeragi and Feldt stared at each other before their hands appeared over the counter.

"Rock, paper, scissors!" they cried. Feldt cried out a happy cheer and her boss pouted while she picked up the headpiece. "Ptolemaios Bookstores, this is Sumeragi Lee Noriega, how can I help you?"

_"That's you middle name! My friend Graham and I were talking about middle names and I totally forgot yours!"_ Sumeragi laughed and smiled, "Liar, I bet you have my name written on your wall." He chuckled and nodded, _"Yes, it actually is in my datapad. So, how are you doing, Leesa?"_ her smile grew forlorn. "Only you call me that nowadays." She remarked.

_"Sorry, I knew you before you were Sumeragi Lee Noriega. Now answer me, Lee-sa."_ She got the feeling he was smiling over on his end. "I'm doing well, thank you. How about yourself?"

"_Uh… You know me. Work, work, work… It is satisfying working with the patients though. Keeps me on my toes."_ Nodding, Sumeragi picked up her water and took another sip. "Well, as long as it works for you and you are doing well, that's all that matters to me. Now, is there a reason for this call or did you miss me so much since our last conversation last week?"

_"Nothing gets past you, actually. I was wondering… Is that young man still working for you?" _the brunette blinked in confusion. "Tieria? Yeah, he is still working with me. Why do you want to know?" there was a slight pause before Billy continued. _"It may sound rude of me to be so forward, but is he still in need of some extra cash?"_ her voice turned defensive. "Why do you want to know, Billy?"

Billy Katagiri removed his glasses from his face and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "I know it sounds weird and suspicious, but Graham brought up an idea that seems like it could work well with one patient that I have been working with." He paused and allowed his first bit of bait to sink in.

"_I'm listening…"_ She allowed; Billy smiled and quickly continued.

"I have a patient who has been here longer than I have. His name is Allelujah Haptism and he is a 24 year-old-man who is capable of being with people, but he has a severe case of MPD."

"_English, please!" _she asked loudly. He chuckled again and placed his glasses on his cluttered desk. "Multiple Personality Disorder. Along with his own conscious, there is a second 'person' in his body beside himself. With this mental illness, he has been locked away in the Human Reform Institution since he was eight." He drew his ear away from the phone as he heard sputtering from the other end.

"_Ms. Sumeragi, are you all right?" _Demanded a female voice that wasn't Sumeragi. _"I told you not to multitask, ma'am." _Deadpanned a male voice on the same end.

One of Billy's eyebrows quirked in response, _'I am going to assume that is Tieria Erde.'_

A moment later, Sumeragi's voice spoke up slightly choked up by swallowing too much water by accident, but she managed to reply, _"May I ask what he did to warrant being locked away for the rest of his life or is that confidential?"_ her voice was slightly haggard, but there was still the defensive edge to it. Billy smiled, "When he was younger, it did warrant complete enclosure, but he has improved greatly over the years. I believe he can rejoin society, but a few others here believe otherwise. Short of treating him like a criminal, they think he should die in this padded prison." She mentally sighed. _He avoided truly answering my question…_

_"And of course, you don't believe that,"_ she commented dryly.

The man with deep chocolate brown eyes nodded and mentally acknowledged that Leesa couldn't see the motion, so voiced, "I believe that if Allelujah were to interact with someone outside of the Institution, he may react positively and be able to prove to the other doctors here that he is safe and with this proof, he will could be discharged by the end of summer."

Sumeragi turned to gaze at her male employee and saw that even though he was working and completing every task she or Feldt gave him, he still didn't posses that same warmth as the last two weeks.

_He lost it in the last 12 hours…_ she thought dismally. Sighing, she turned her attention back to her longtime friend. "What exactly do you want from him?" Sumeragi asked.

On his end, Billy cheered. He heard the tone of defeat in her voice; it's not like he wanted her to feel like she was betraying her employee, but this was a perfect opportunity! Allelujah would get the human interaction with someone else and Tieria will be paid for his work and troubles. A win, win situation if he ever heard of one!

_"We'll start with one meeting a week to see how they interact and all they have to do is talk, read, draw, even go on walks. They just need to spend time together. A complete third party not biased to Allelujah will help him see that there is good things in the world and that could get him to go the extra mile. This little push could set him free from the Human Reform Institute."_

Sumeragi Lee Noriega contemplated before speaking, "If I'm going to sell this crazy idea to Tieria, I need to bring in how much he is going to get from this." She smirked. _Let's see how desperate Billy is to have this crazy stunt done…_

Without waiting for a reasonable pause, Billy replied, _"250 per visit. We are only a 10-minute drive away from your store or a 20-minute bus ride plus a five-minute stroll from the bus stop. Nothing too demanding if I say so myself; not to mention he will only be here for an hour and a half to two hours."_ He was now grinning, _that's a god deal, right Leesa?_

She was a little taken aback, but quickly recovered. "Fine, I will talk to him and get back to you when he gives me an answer." Smiling, Billy replied smoothly, _"I'll wait till then, take care Sumeragi."_

With that said, the two hung up and left each other to their own devices.

Sumeragi's shoulder's slumped as she realized what she just did. _Not only did I sell him out, I made it seem like there was no big deal with placing Tieria in a situation with someone locked away at that insane asylum for one on one expansive chatting! I made him into a whore without the sex part! _Her inner turmoil was spilling onto her face and Feldt saw this clearly.

"Tieria, I think there is something wrong with Ms. Sumeragi." She stated, he looked up from a book he was reading, titled, _"Along Came a Spider"_ by James Patterson, and saw the same thing.

Sighing, he placed the book back on the shelf and spoke, "I'll go talk to her. Can you go help the woman over in the children's section? She seems like she's in distress." The pink haired beauty turned and stifled a giggle as she saw the woman who was struggling to put a book back on a shelf that was clearly too tall for her while she was on her tip toes.

"I'll go help her," she replied and walked off. The purple haired man smiled before walking over to his slumped over boss and said loudly, "If you continue sulking like this, you're going to ruin all your hard work of promoting a perky sale with your depressing mood." She jumped and squeaked; quickly turning to her employee her scolding features on her face vanished.

A delicate eyebrow rose on his face as he saw this and was now a little curious, but it didn't show in his face. Sumeragi fumbled with her words for a moment, another thing Tieria wasn't used to, and then she finally got out a sentence. "I… need to speak with you for a moment in private." He hesitantly, "Very well."

They both made their way to the back room and walked past the locker area to a small door, which was labeled, "Manager's Office" in dark rose pink lettering. Sumeragi and Tieria both sat down in their respected seats. Hers was behind the desk and his was in front of her.

Moments passed before she finally told him about the offer that her friend Billy pitched her and how it pertained to Tieria and his financial situation. "… You will be paid well for your time and all you have to do is spend time with this young man. Billy says he is no longer a danger, and well… I believe him." She finished and mentally scolded herself for the lame ending. _He believes in me, sure, but I'm selling him to Billy!_

Tieria had on his passive face and no matter how much Sumeragi wanted him to reply in a bodily movement, he offered no such thing. Sumeragi was just about ready to laugh this off as a joke by her and her college friend, but Tieria's soft voice sounded through the air.

"All I have to do is spend time with him? Reading, conversing, walking, nothing else?"

She nodded quickly, "All you have to do is spend time with him. Maybe Billy will speak with you at the end to see how it went on your side, but he says that's about it." She paused and added in a more subdued voice, "I don't want to force you into this. Know that it is ultimately your choice and no one will blame you if you don't accept it. If Billy even tries guilt tripping you, I will drive over to the HRI and kick his nerd ass for you." Sumeragi offered with a small smile.

He smiled in return a real smile and nodded, "I understand, thanks for protecting my right to choose." He smile turned serene and he continued, "I do need more money for my brother, Ribbons…" his voice faded and that was the one fact that Sumeragi knew stole away his happiness. _He received a letter from his family last night_.

"So this will actually help me out a lot," he paused to look at the leg of the desk for a moment then brought his gaze up to his friend and employer. "I will agree to do this. When do I start?"

**G00G00G00G00G00G00G00**

As promised, Lyle and Setsuna both walked up to the Ptolemaios Bookstore and saw through the window that Feldt was closing the curtains on the second floor, Ms. Sumeragi was writing down the receipts of the day into her sale books, and Tieria was sitting in a comfortable plush chair that was in the children's section for reading hour.

They walked in and Lyle spoke first, "I have a reserved book about a Princess that works in a Bookstore for a lovely Queen that won't let her find her Prince Charming because of a spell called work. Is it in yet?" the three workers looked up and he received three responses.

Feldt giggled and poorly hid her amusement; Sumeragi smiled at his silly antics and shook her head before returning to her book; and Tieria blushed a crimson red. "Would you stop with that Princess garbage? God, I am not a princess!" he closed his book and stomped to stand in front of the taller man. _Height means nothing if you can take him on!_ Reasoned Tieria's mind.

Lyle offered one of his charming smiles. "But you ARE our Princess! Queen Sumeragi and Princess Feldt would agree with me, right Knight Setsuna?" he asked his boyfriend, who responded in a monotone voice, "So speaks the court jester."

While the bantering between Setsuna and Lyle brought Feldt closer to join in the frivolous story, Tieria moved to the back room to get his bag out of his locker and paused as a worn picture caught his eye. It was fairly old and being stuck inside a locker hasn't done it justice. It was a picture taken five years ago by a passer by of the bookstore that Sumeragi asked to take the picture of them all.

Since Neil and Lyle were the tallest, they stood in the back with Lyle's left arm hugging Setsuna close and Neil's arms were wrapped around Tieria's shoulders; keeping him snug and close. Feldt and Lasse were there on the right side of Tieria and Neil.

To the left of Setsuna and Lyle were Mileina and her father Ian, who was a good friend of Sumeragi, with their leading lady Sumeragi sandwiched between Tieria and Setsuna.

The twins were smiling the same smile they shared with Setsuna looking at the camera with a soft gaze and the corner of his lips pulled up to replicate a smile. Tieria was blushing a deep red, but managed a smile. Feldt was smiling a dazzling smile that could brighten anyone's day and Lasse was grinning from ear to ear. Mileina and Ian were also smiling; Mileina was just as pretty as Feldt with her smile and Ian had a kind smile adorning his lips. Lastly, Sumeragi help up a peace sign and was crying out, "To Ptolemaios Bookstore!" the picture caught her during the syllable "boo" so it made the snap shot more amusing.

"The days when everything made sense and more bearable." He placed his index finger to Neil's lips and shut the locker shut.

_Now I have to make it on my own…_ was all he thought as he left the back room and bid his employer and fellow employee good night.

Sumeragi locked the front door shut as Feldt walked home and returned to her seat behind the checkout desk. _He actually agreed…_ she commented in her head. Her elbows were propped on the counter with her hands supporting her face. "I almost wish he didn't…" this was said out loud, but no one answered her.

The lovely owner of Ptolemaios Bookstore glanced at the clock behind her head and nodded, "He'll want to know as soon as possible," with that, she picked up the cordless phone and dialed in the memorized number.

It rang a few times before the same warm voice asked, _"Hello, Leesa?"_ She smiled the same forlorn smile before replying. "He said yes to the offer. When do you want him to start?"

"_If he can, this Friday will be splendid."_ Her lips pulled down in a frown, but her voice maintained its neutral tone.

"All right then, he'll be there on Friday…" he finished her almost question. "_Around 10 a.m. We can start with an hour and a half and stretch on the time from there."_ He paused a bit before tentatively adding, _"Thank you for offering him Graham's idea."_ Shutting her eyes, Sumeragi bit out, "Yeah, no problem," and ended the conversation.

Minutes ticked by before she raised her head and sighed loudly, "I hate Tuesdays…"

**G00G00G00G00G00G00G00**

**Chinese Fairy: **Sorry about the late update, I was hoping more people would reiew, but not many. I won't foul up the people who want this story to continue so here is the second chapter!

Enjoy~!


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